With over 28 years of experience, Mirror Metals is North America’s premier distributor of #8 mirror stainless steel. We provide only the highest quality mirror finishes available in today’s market—free of grit lines, dimples, pinholes, and any cloudiness.
What Is A #8 Finish On Stainless Steel?
Naming and describing mirror finish varies wildly in the metal industry.
ASTM provides some guidance on standards for common metal finish names and their properties:
“No. 7: This surface has a high degree of reflectivity. Produced by buffing a finely ground surface, but the grit lines are not removed.
No. 8: Highly reflective finish produced by polishing and then buffing. Grit lines removed.”
However, the market offers a variety of finish names, including 7, #7 Directional, #8, #8 Non-Directional, #9, #10, #8 Non-Directional/#10, Super Mirror, and even Yacht Quality.
Organizations like the National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers (NAAMM) and the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA) attempt to provide clarity through their Metal Finishes Manual. According to this manual, a high-quality #8 finish is typically achieved through a process of polishing with progressively finer abrasives followed by extensive buffing.
“Still smoother and more reflective finishes (Nos. 7 and 8 Sheet Finishes) are obtained by buffing polished surfaces. The highly reflective, mirror-like, No. 8 is typically produced by polishing with successively finer abrasives, then buffing.”
Based on these descriptions, Mirror Metal’s standard meets/exceeds ASTM standards, where others polish to what ASTM describes as a #7.
#8 Mirror Finish Insights from NAAMM
As noted in the Metal Finishes Manual, even esteemed organizations recognize the challenge of standardization when it comes to the #8 Mirror Finish and how to determine its quality:
“This Super No. 8 polish is referred to as a Super or Supreme No. 8 or No. 9, 10, 11 or even 12 polish. It is buffed longer than an ASTM No. 8 polish to achieve a true mirror polish. It is not defined by ASTM and supplier terminology for this finish varies. Applications range from decorative panels to bathroom mirrors. It is usually purchased already machine polished in sheet form and requires specifying stainless steel with very low sulfur (0.005 or less) levels. If the right quality of stainless steel is not specified, impurities in the metal can cause flaws during polishing.”
What Makes Mirror Metals #8/#10 Stand Out?
At Mirror Metals, we have built our reputation around a signature #8/#10 mirror finish that truly distinguishes us from the competition. We start with only the highest-grade base material, rejecting stock prone to defects—chatter, pinholes, or haze—before polishing. Our process meets the strictest polishing standards, featuring multiple abrasive passes and extensive buffing to eliminate all grit lines. Finally, we package each piece in best-in-class protective materials to ensure it arrives flawless.
Browse our project library to see #8 mirror finish in the wild.
Competitive Landscape: Understanding Quality Variances
Quality within the industry varies significantly.
The highest quality stock we have encountered would not meet our standard for #8/#10, but may work for industries where a mirror-like #8 finish with faint grit lines and some cloudiness is acceptable. Unfortunately, many products branded as #8 should be considered #7 or #7 Directional finishes, often displaying prominent grit lines, cloudiness, and imperfections like pinholes and chatter.
Mirror Metals Quality Makes Us Your Partner in Excellence
For all your mirror finish needs, trust Mirror Metals.
We are uncompromising in our pursuit of quality, having built an exceptional reputation as the premier distributor of this finish for over 25 years.
Our extensive inventory supports distributors and end-users from the coasts and everywhere in between, directly from our facilities in Southern California and Northeast Tennessee.
We can offer standard dimensions, longer lengths, 60″ wide, custom dimensions, and options in 304, 316L, and 430 alloys. Plus, we can deliver with an extensive inventory of 2B, #4 satin, and Bright Annealed (BA) for additional value.
When you choose Mirror Metals, you can be confident in the quality and reliability of your mirror finish products.